Just throwing an idea out there.
The problem as I see it right now is this:
Tesla needs "giga" battery factories to make Gen III possible. However Tesla doesn't want to commit to any one battery producer so that they can always pick and choose the best battery technology for the best price as it comes along. Fair enough.
Panasonic (with 35% of worldwide 18650 cell production) and Samsung (with 30%) would probably love to build the giga factories for Tesla but without a serious long term supply contract how are either of these companies to commit the billions necessary to build these giga factories?
Panasonic or Samsung (most likely Samsung as Panasonic probably couldn't afford this) could thus solve the problem themselves by buying out Tesla. Then they have the motivation for building the battery factories, as they don't have to worry about losing the Tesla contract obviously, so they can simply try to profit off the end product...Tesla cars, trucks, motorcycles, boats, trains, planes, etc (the possibilities are truly endless with a backer as big as Samsung).
It's not like Samsung's innovation will stop. Indeed they will have the most at stake in wanting to make the next great battery as it will mean more vehicles sold. And if some other better battery is developed somewhere else they will want to sell the technology to Samsung as they will own the giga factories that can be modified to use the new technology. That or Samsung could buy the company who comes up with the "secret sauce".
When you think about it an EV is really more related to Samsung's line of business than it is to Detroit's. We've got batteries, touchscreens, electronics, controllers, etc. Samsung could provide all these components to Tesla at cost, again aiming to profit on the end product.
Think of the integration between the car and Samsung cellphones, tablets, etc. Selling the car could thus also be a way to sell more phones and tablets. Since Samsung uses Google Android technology this could work in nicely in future in terms of the Google self driving technology. As a battery, electronics, and computer company a Samsung acquisition does make more sense than an Apple or Google buyout as has been suggested by others in the past.
I know Elon has said he wants to retain control until Gen III comes out but an acquisition with the potential to accelerate the Gen III program like this would be pretty hard for him to ignore and ultimately the shareholders would have to decide. Elon only has 25% of the company after all.
It's not like anyone would want Elon to step down...indeed I am sure Samsung would put him in charge of the entire Samsung battery / Tesla division and certainly pay him a hell of a lot more than the token salary he is currently paying himself.
Not to get ahead of ourselves here but an acquisition of SolarCity might not be a bad idea either. Provide SolarCity with cost price solar panels, backup batteries, etc and aim to profit on the leasing/ installation expertise of SolarCity and the synergies they have already developed with Tesla. Eventually you bring SpaceX into the fold as well and we get closer to that electric supersonic jet that Elon has been talking about.
Anyway interesting to think about anyway. Cheers!
The problem as I see it right now is this:
Tesla needs "giga" battery factories to make Gen III possible. However Tesla doesn't want to commit to any one battery producer so that they can always pick and choose the best battery technology for the best price as it comes along. Fair enough.
Panasonic (with 35% of worldwide 18650 cell production) and Samsung (with 30%) would probably love to build the giga factories for Tesla but without a serious long term supply contract how are either of these companies to commit the billions necessary to build these giga factories?
Panasonic or Samsung (most likely Samsung as Panasonic probably couldn't afford this) could thus solve the problem themselves by buying out Tesla. Then they have the motivation for building the battery factories, as they don't have to worry about losing the Tesla contract obviously, so they can simply try to profit off the end product...Tesla cars, trucks, motorcycles, boats, trains, planes, etc (the possibilities are truly endless with a backer as big as Samsung).
It's not like Samsung's innovation will stop. Indeed they will have the most at stake in wanting to make the next great battery as it will mean more vehicles sold. And if some other better battery is developed somewhere else they will want to sell the technology to Samsung as they will own the giga factories that can be modified to use the new technology. That or Samsung could buy the company who comes up with the "secret sauce".
When you think about it an EV is really more related to Samsung's line of business than it is to Detroit's. We've got batteries, touchscreens, electronics, controllers, etc. Samsung could provide all these components to Tesla at cost, again aiming to profit on the end product.
Think of the integration between the car and Samsung cellphones, tablets, etc. Selling the car could thus also be a way to sell more phones and tablets. Since Samsung uses Google Android technology this could work in nicely in future in terms of the Google self driving technology. As a battery, electronics, and computer company a Samsung acquisition does make more sense than an Apple or Google buyout as has been suggested by others in the past.
I know Elon has said he wants to retain control until Gen III comes out but an acquisition with the potential to accelerate the Gen III program like this would be pretty hard for him to ignore and ultimately the shareholders would have to decide. Elon only has 25% of the company after all.
It's not like anyone would want Elon to step down...indeed I am sure Samsung would put him in charge of the entire Samsung battery / Tesla division and certainly pay him a hell of a lot more than the token salary he is currently paying himself.
Not to get ahead of ourselves here but an acquisition of SolarCity might not be a bad idea either. Provide SolarCity with cost price solar panels, backup batteries, etc and aim to profit on the leasing/ installation expertise of SolarCity and the synergies they have already developed with Tesla. Eventually you bring SpaceX into the fold as well and we get closer to that electric supersonic jet that Elon has been talking about.
Anyway interesting to think about anyway. Cheers!